This novel is limited to 100 free copies due to its part in Inkitt’s Novel Contest.
By Jordan Sovereign All Rights Reserved ©
“RICHARDSON!” screamed commissioner Plotnik.
“Yes sir?”
“YOU’RE LATE! And I want to talk to you about your latest report!”
“OK sir, let me just put my stuff at my desk.”
James knew this was coming, he faced it in varying degrees every morning, but today he probably went too far.
“You insinuated that there was a murder – what evidence do you have, Richardson?”
“Well, none sir, but it makes it so much more interesting, don’t you think?”
“No Richardson…falsifying records makes me look like a buffoon.”
James wanted to tell him that no, in fact, he made himself look like a buffoon, but James was never that brave.
“Well sir, I will try to be more objective in my next report.”
“That would be great, but somehow, I don’t believe it…that’s why I am reassigning you to…”
“Reassigning me? But I am so close to solving this one.”
“Vaughn can handle that one, I can’t have you working on any more of these high profile cases. Your new assignment is this guy – 1421 E. Sycamore…a Mr. Scrushy. I think you could help him out. Carter can brief you on the case.”
James walked out of that office, and half listened as Carter laid out the case. Carter spoke in a whiny, high-pitched voice. It was the last thing James wanted to hear today. As they walked towards his desk, Carter quickly talked about the call they had received from Mr. Scrushy. He was a high-powered bank executive who lived in a nice house with his wife. Scrushy had collected various artifacts from his travels around the world. He claimed that he was being robbed, but only one item at a time. James decided to go down to Sycamore to see what was up.
James arrived at the large house, rang the doorbell and a man in a tuxedo came up to the door. James flashed his badge and asked if he could come in. James guessed he was the butler, but was surprised when the man stretched out an arm to shake his hand.
“I’m William Scrushy. Are you here to…investigate?” Scrushy whispered that last word, playing out some spy fantasy in his mind. James knew that Plotnik was laughing in his cubicle.
“Yeah. Why don’t you tell me the whole story?” Mr. Scrushy invited him in and they walked into a large living room area. As they walked down the hallway, James noticed some photos on the wall, a beautiful woman, who was probably Mr. Scrushy’s wife. He was sort of hoping he’d get to meet her today, but didn’t count on it.
From the living room, Mr. Scrushy opened a large door to a safe that looked more like a bank vault. As James looked around at the remaining artifacts, Mr. Scrushy told James more about the robberies: “I had about 150 artifacts in here, and now I’m down to around 78. I don’t know who could have done this or how, but they keep getting stolen, one per night.”
James was about to ask for descriptions of the stolen items, when he noticed a particular artifact that grabbed his attention. It wasn’t a statue or vase, instead it hung on the wall. It was a black robe with a furry pink hat.
“Wait, what is this?”
“Oh that, well, that is the official regalia of the League of Vivoneely, a secret society. All the men in the group got one. It brings back so many memories; I remember the day I joined. Fredrickson found me and pulled me into this secret room, they seemed to know I would fit in to this group.” He stood up and found a photograph of 7 young men. “These are the Vivs, all my best friends.”
“Do you keep in touch?”
“Yes, well, all but one. Grant was killed a couple of years ago in a car wreck. We all came to the funeral, it was a sad day. We also try to get together every year.”
“You say Grant was killed? Do you mean murdered?”
“No, it was a car wreck, but we all suspected foul play, what with the secrets of the League”
“Secrets?”
“Well, I can’t tell you, or it wouldn’t be a secret, now would it?”
“I guess not. Well, if Grant was murdered, maybe whoever did it may be after you too. I’d watch my back, Mr. Scrushy.” With no leads here, James went back to the station.
Charlie_8472: Recommended to me by a friend, I thought I'd give this a read. As a hobbyist blacksmith, the blurb certainly caught my attention. I found the sentence about them drinking, dancing and fighting a strange combination of activities, perhaps a reflection of the writer’s personality and humour. Howeve...
Roy Jenner: I was pleased to join the action where this B-17 was limping back across the English Channel defying all odds. Obviously written by a person more than familiar with the interior of the Flying Fortresses that were familiar in the skies of Southern England during World War 2. Plenty of action here ...
Hawkebat: Playing both Kotor I & II and Swtor I found the story line interesting and it held me until chapter 35 Very good story and plot flow until then, very few technical errors. I felt that the main character was a bit under and over powered, as it fought for balance. The last few chapters felt too f...
Roxie: This was a very well thought out story and I greatly enjoyed it! I don't usually go for these kinds of stories because of clichés and what not, nut this was great. There were a few typos and grammatical errors, but that is to be expected. While I knew the overall end of the story It was engaging ...
Sara Grover: Being that this is your first story and I assume first draft, a lot of little mistakes are common, we all have made them; little things like your instead of you're, missed capitalization, missing punctuation, etc. As for the plot, I have a lot of questions and I did leave comments on certain sect...
Ruby0h: Overall I thought your story was really good! It drew me in right away and kept me interested as the story progressed. I loved the character of Kayla being inserted into this story, and the way she affected and shaped the life of the original story into something totally new and interesting. I lo...
Cassie Jacobson: So many twists and turns. Keeps you wanting to read to see what happens next. The main character is detailed well. The struggles and growth of Joby makes you admire her. It gives you a proud satisfied feeling while reading it. A refreshing difference then most books out there today, and in a w...
CookieMonster911: The story overall was an adventure that is appealing to any age. The way the characters develop adds a more human characteristic to the novel. The writing style itself is amazing because you can learn every character's thoughts and emotions. The awkward love triangle and jerk moments adds to the ...
